17-year-old ‘American Idol’ contestant’s powerful song for his grieving teacher moves judges to tears
Slater Nalley, a 17-year-old singer and songwriter from Nashville, wowed the 'American Idol' judges with his original composition 'Traces of You'. However, they were stunned when they heard the inspiration behind the heart-tugging track. Before Nalley had a chance to impress the judges, his English teacher, Mrs. Davis, explained that the song was written as a memorial to her late son. "I am not performing today. I'm so grateful to be here. I have a special student of mine, Slater Nalley, and he wrote a song for my son, who was killed eight years ago," she revealed. The grieving mother further disclosed that Nalley had turned her short poem into a song, "Slater had heard the story about my son and I had written a poem, and the second year that I taught him, I asked, 'Would you mind looking at the poem?"
"So he did, and two weeks later, he wrote the song, and that's what he's going to sing today," she continued. During the confessional, the teenager acknowledged that he wrote the original song because he wanted to soothe his teacher's suffering after learning that she was grieving. "This song is called 'Traces of You,' I wrote it for Carter Davis," he said, "I didn't know Carter before this happened, and when Mrs. Davis told us, I just felt this presence come into my life essentially, and I knew that I needed to do something. I went home and started working away on little notebook pages, and eventually, it turned into a song."
Carrie Underwood was left feeling overwhelmed by the end of the teen's soulful performance. "Even though this was about your son, every single person who hears that can fill in that memory with somebody that's in themselves. I couldn't have imagined you doing that any better," she said, wiping her tears. Lionel Richie stated that he was moved by the lyrics, and Bryan Luke encouraged him to maintain his uniqueness. The judge's decision was unanimous without casting any vote; Nalley earned his ticket to fame. "To have this gift, it's like a little piece of Carter gets to live on in song," Mrs. Davis expressed in tears after witnessing the result.
The teen sensation breezed past Hollywood Week with another one of his original tracks titled 'Foolish Pride'. "It is about self-reflection, and realizing sometimes when you're the problem in a relationship, of a friendship, or anything. I wrote it when I was going through a hard time in a relationship. I think the judges are going to see another side of my storytelling," he said before his turn. "I'm scared!" was all Underwood could say after witnessing another one of his soulful performances.
"I wanted the judges to see a different side of me. Still a songwriter, but with a different range of my voice. And I think that they got that." Earlier during the introduction, Nalley shared that his English teacher gifted him a necklace with a pendant that featured Saint Christopher and also had her late son Carter's ashes. "Because they know I got nervous a little bit before my last audition," he explained. Nalley's stunning renditions have rocked the competition, including his most recent performance of 'Over the Rainbow.'